It's Never Easy
by highonart
Summary: Swanqueen AU, Emma and Regina have a meet cute that may turn into something more with the help of a precocious four year old.


Emma sighed as the door slammed in her face. He was running, she hated it when they ran. Without missing a beat she bounded over the hedges near the end of the porch and took off towards the backyard. She arrived just in time to see the man struggle to hop the small chain link fence. Without thinking she leapt forward and grabbed his ankle which caused a drastic loss of balance on his end and he slammed face first into the hard ground on the other side giving her enough time to land softly near him. Ignoring his choice words she roughly placed the handcuffs on his wrists and fished her cell out of her pocket.  
"Of course I got him Ruby. Do I ever not get my mark?"  
Emma elbowed the man as he tried to pull away and shoved him in the general direction of her car using her shoulder to hold her phone in place.  
"Yeah, I'm taking him to the station now. I'll be home for bath time and dinner! This son of a bitch wasn't easy, he ran. Of course he ran, they all run."  
Emma practically threw him in the back of the car as she hung up with Ruby.  
The man glared at the bars in front of his face.  
"What? You think I'd just have a normal car? I'm blonde, but I'm not stupid. I deal with jerks like you all day. Anyway get used to seeing bars, where you're going, you're going be seeing a lot of them."

After an hour of paperwork and a nice paycheck later Emma walked into her apartment exhausted but happy.  
"Honey I'm home," she bellowed listening for little feet to find her.  
It was only a few seconds until she was watching a smiling four year old bounding towards her.  
"Mama!" The little brunette squealed as Emma picked her up and laid her on her shoulder.  
"Where is my daughter? Ava, Ava where are you? When I left this morning I swear you were my little baby, but now all I can find is this big girl, she can't possibly be my little Avabug." Emma said in a sing song voice while wondering from room to room pretending to look for the little girl.  
"Mama, I'm right here. I must have growed while you were gone. It's me I pwomise." Said Ava giggling.  
"I guess you're right. If only for the reason that you're the only kid in my apartment. So it has to be you!" She tickled her as she set her down.  
"Emma, I'm due at the library for study group. I'm sorry but I have to go. Ava has been an angel as usual. We're working on our abc's, and numbers. I'll see you both same time same place tomorrow morning," said Belle as she kissed both ladies on the cheek.  
Emma heard the door shut behind her and looked at Ava with a very serious face as she whispered, "she's so much more fun after her finals are over huh kid?"  
"Mama, Belle is my friend. She takes escams now, like abc's."  
"You're right kiddo, let's not interfere with her escams."  
Emma went into her kitchen and stared dumbly at the contents of her cabinets.  
"Hmmm, nope not tonight. Hey kid, wanna go to the diner and have breakfast for dinner?"  
Ava pretended to think and just smiled as she nodded.  
"That's what I thought. Let's find your shoes."

Twenty minutes later they were just walking up to the diner entrance. Ava had let go of her mom's hand to reach up and push the door open. Just as she was doing this, a man on his cell pushed between the two of them and knocked Ava off balance sending her stumbling backwards. Emma reached out towards her, but not before she bounced off someone also trying to enter the diner. Emma scrambled to grab Ava's hand, but the large group of people talking loudly and leaving the diner frightened her and she instinctively hid behind the legs of the person she had just ran into. Emma pushed her way through the crowd and kneeled next to Ava.  
"Avabug, you scared me," said Emma as she scanned her little body for injury. As she was doing this she noticed Ava clutching the hand and pant leg of the person who stood still and allowed Ava to use their body as a human wall. There was also a perfectly manicured hand resting on the top of Ava's curls. Emma slowly lifted her head and swallowed when she saw who was staring back at her.  
"Thank, thank you for stopping and letting her hold onto you. Large groups of people frighten her sometimes," Emma said to the serious face staring back at her.  
Emma's thoughts were running rampant. This was Regina Mills, like the Regina Mills. Everyone in Boston knew who she was, her family was old money. She was the most sought after financial advisor in the northeast. Just last month she was on the cover of the Boston Globe as the city's most eligible bachelorette.  
"You're welcome," the brunette said back looking down at the little girl still holding her hand.  
"Oh, um. I'm Emma and this is Ava," said Emma as she stood up.  
"Regina Mills," she tried to stick her hand out for a handshake, but stopped when she realized Ava still had it in a death grip.  
"I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are. You're a celebrity here. You redid the whole south side district which freed up enough funds for us to get raises and more free lance work."  
"Are you a police officer?"  
"Not exactly, but I do a lot of work with the precinct."  
Regina was going to respond when she felt a tug on her pants. She looked down, but didn't know what to say.  
"She wants you to kneel in front of her, you know on her level," said Emma with a proud smile.  
Regina didn't hesitate as she bent over and looked into green eyes. Before she could say anything she felt two arms around her neck and a small body slam into her in a ferocious hug. It was enough to make her take a small step back from the force.  
"Thank you for saving me," she heard a delicate voice attempt to whisper in her ear.  
"Oh, well you're very welcome, dear," Regina said back still a little in shock at the abruptness of the physical contact.  
"You have to hug me back or it's not a real hug," said the same voice.  
Regina hesitantly and awkwardly hugged her back and Emma smiled at the strange situation.  
Emma knew all about the reputation Regina had, nicknamed the 'evil queen' and considered to be a heartless bitch. Some people even went as far as saying that she enjoyed making people cry when she fired them.  
The little arms released Regina's neck and she cleared her throat as she stood.  
"Gina, you want to have breakfast with me?" Asked Ava as she stared at Regina with big pleading eyes.  
"Hey kid, I'm here too," said Emma back playfully.  
"I, uh, I..." Regina forced out.  
"You don't have to, those puppy dog eyes are killer though right. But know you are more than invited. You saved her from scratched knees and me the embarrassment of a screaming four year old."  
"Oh, well I was just here to get take out. I just left a late business meeting, but I suppose I could."  
Ava squealed with giddiness and grabbed Regina's hand pulling her the direction of the diner.  
"Ava don't pull," Emma said with a strict tone in her voice.  
"Sorry, will you hold my hand and let me sit by you in the booth. I'll sit on the inside and not spill anything. I pwomise," said Ava as she stared very intently at Regina.  
"Don't make promises you can't keep kiddo," laughed Emma as she followed them to their favorite booth.  
She watched as Regina gingerly sat down and tried not to look uncomfortable. She didn't miss the smile she got when Ava pulled out a small stuffed horse and placed it on the booth beside and and mumbled something to it.  
"That's Poppy, her favorite stuffed animal. She goes everywhere Ava goes. Right now she's telling her about you and that we're getting ready to eat breakfast for dinner. She's quite the story teller and Poppy is a good listener,"  
Regina smiled as she said, "I see."  
"Wanna see what I learn today?"  
Both adults corrected Ava at the same time by saying 'learned' without thinking about it.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean," whispered Regina.  
"That's how she learns, try again Avabug."  
"Wanna see what I learned today?" Ava asked again with far too much emphasis on the last syllable.  
Before either woman could respond she had picked up Regina's hand and began counting on her fingers. Both women giggled when she scrunched up her nose trying to remember the numbers.  
"That's wonderful!" Exclaimed Regina.  
"Yeah baby girl, you're a genius!"  
Emma was absolutely enthralled by this woman. She seemed so poised and well, cold, but after spending almost two hours with her she could see there was more to her than that. She did have a sense of humor, granted a dark one, but it was there and she was so sensitive to Ava.  
"I'm done with my ice cream!" Announced Ava interrupting their conversation about real estate, how they got on that, she'll never know. Ava turned to Regina and held out her hands for Regina to wipe with a wet napkin. Confused, she looked towards Emma who explained that it was just time for her hands to be wiped so she could go wash them properly. Emma dipped a napkin in her water and handed it to Regina who very carefully cleaned Ava's hands. They both smiled after her as she walked to the restroom.  
"She's learning to be independent, so I let her wash her hands on her own. She still plays in the water though, she'll come back with a wet belly and face," said Emma lovingly.  
"She is quite possibly the sweetest little girl I have ever met. You're doing a wonderful job."  
"Based on the way you treat her like she's going to break or blow up, I'm going to assume you haven't been around many kids, but still thank you. That little monster is my life."  
After Ava made it back to the table they made their way to the register where Emma stood in line. Regina kept walking towards the door with a very bouncy Ava chattering next to her. Emma politely thanked the cashier and walked up to Regina with a very serious look on her face.  
"You're sneaky. Thank you for paying for dinner. Now, you have to agree to this again, so I can pay. It's only fair."  
Regina smiled shyly and nodded.  
"Are we going on another date? When? Tomorrow? Can we watch Frozen?" Shrieked Ava.  
"Yeah when are we going on another date?" Asked Emma with a smirk on her face.  
Regina smiled through her blush and handed Emma her card.  
"Call me, my personal cell number is on the back. It was lovely meeting both of you."  
Ava threw herself in a full body hug, one Regina easily returned this time. "Ava you made me smile more today than I have in years. Thank you," said Regina thoughtfully.  
"Welcome, we're going on another date not in forever right?"  
"Alright kiddo, that's our cue to leave before my face turns anymore red," Emma could hear Regina's laughter at the comment.

Three days later

"Kathryn I told you, I don't have her number. She has mine." Regina frowned into her phone.  
"I don't know, I'm not going to stalk her. I'm Regina Mills, people come to me, I don't seek them out." Regina sighed as she listened to Kathryn's lecture.  
"It's just I've never had the opportunity to spend anytime with someone like her. She's crass and rough around the edges and she doesn't seem the least bit afraid of me. Her daughter hugged me, twice. Neither of them walked on egg shells around me or cared if they were a little loud or worried about what other people thought. They were just more real than anyone I've ever spent time with. Fun, even." Regina paused to let her words sink in.  
"I agree with you. That would be good for me."  
Regina sulked for the rest of the day. She went to meeting after meeting and sorted through piles of financial records, being the villain for cleaning up other people's messes. She purposely ignored her phone all the while hoping desperately it would ring. It wasn't until she was home sitting on her couch enjoying a glass of wine did her phone vibrate. Glancing at the screen she didn't recognize the number and felt her pulse race at the prospect of it being Emma.  
Sliding her fingers across the screen she opened a picture of Emma and Ava smiling at the camera with apple pieces stuck in their mouths. The caption said, "We tried making apple sauce from scratch. We failed. Miserably."  
Before she had time to respond another message came through, "Would you like to come over tomorrow night when we try our hand at blueberry muffins?"  
Regina mentally went over her busy schedule, but ultimately decided she could move her late conference call and make it.  
"Yes I would," she sent back only to get another picture of the two highfiving comically.

Emma raced home after another runner and thanked Belle for cleaning up the apartment.  
"Is she gay?" asked Belle as she gathered her things.  
"I have no idea. I just like her. She's confusing. You know like a puzzle, she has this reputation as being a bitch, but she was funny and caring. I mean a bit distant and cold, but aren't all high society types like that? She's so far out of my league it's gross, but as long as she wants to spend time with us I'm not going to complain."  
"You've got it so bad." Belle said smiling.  
"Shit, yeah. I do."  
Belle said her goodbyes and left a flustered Emma to get ready.  
Regina read the text with Emma's address again as she double checked to make sure she was in the right place. Pressing the button for an E. Swan she was relieved to hear Emma's voice asking who it was and buzzing her up. Regina raised her hand to knock on the door when it opened to reveal the two smiling faces she realized she'd actually missed. Ava wasted no time in hugging her, but didn't let go when she tried to stand up. Not given a choice the brunette settled the little girl on her hip and walked into the apartment.  
"Your home is lovely Emma." Said Regina as she allowed herself to take in all the rich colors and bold prints.  
"Thank you, we like colors."  
"It looks just like you two."  
Ava laid her head on Regina's shoulder and sighed deeply.  
"Avabug is having a day."  
"A bad day."  
"Oh yes, she found out her favorite teacher Mary Margaret is going on maternity leave next week. She's convinced preschool will never be the same."  
"Oh, I see. I'm very sorry, dear," said Regina to a very quiet Ava.  
"I don't want a different teacher. I like the one I have. The new one might not know her letters and numbers," said Ava.  
Both women laughed and Ava hid her face in Regina's neck. They reigned in the giggles though, both concluding that Ava didn't appreciate being laughed at.


End file.
